Stanford baseball set to take the field

"I knew that when we would have to start games scheduled the rain would come," Stanford baseball coach Mark Marquess said. "So we took care of the drought."

The Cardinal begins its season Friday at 4:30 p.m. when it hosts Rice at Sunken Diamond. It's the first of 14 Stanford games that will appear on TV, with the Pac-12 Networks airing all but one of those.

"The TV coverage I think has benefited all of us," Marquess said. "Four or five years ago, that was rare to have a TV game."

Stanford went 32-22 last season and won two out of three in its last weekend series against eventual NCAA champion UCLA, but missed the postseason for the first time since 2009 and just the fifth time since 1981.

A noticeable absence on the mound will be former ace Mark Appel, who was taken No. 1 overall in last summer's MLB draft.

"We tried to get him to stay another year, but his eligibility is up," Marquess said. "So that's about 105 innings and 10 wins that we have to replace. That's very difficult to do."

At least the arms will have the luxury of experience behind the plate as Brant Whiting and Wayne Taylor shared catcher duty last year. Whiting, who can also DH, started roughly two-thirds of the time, while Taylor can also play left field.

Advertisement

Other position players returning include locals Alex Blandino (St. Francis-Mountain View) and Danny Diekroeger (Menlo School-Atherton). They will man the corner spots in the infield, with Blandino at third base and Diekroeger likely shifting from second to first. Sophomore Drew Jackson has claimed the shortstop position, while second base looks like it's coming down to either freshman Tommy Edman or senior Brett Michael Doran.

"There is still a lot of competition for those starting positions," Marquess said.

Austin Slater is shifting from right field to center, but the outfield is still in limbo with switch hitters Dominic Jose and Jonny Locher battling freshmen Jack Klein and Alex Dunlap for playing time as well as sophomore Zach Hoffpauir, who played in back-to-back Rose Bowls with the football team.

"Right field and left field will kind of be up for grabs," Marquess said.

Back for the weekend rotation will be crafty southpaw John Hochstatter, last year's Saturday starter. A.J. Vanegas, who had back surgery last season, will start out in the bullpen and his role will be reassessed when Pac-12 play begins. Also returning is closer Sam Lindquist.

The Cardinal will rely on a bevy of freshman arms, including Cal Quantrill, Brett Hanewich, Tyler Thorne and Chris Viall, who at 6-foot-8 could also help the men's basketball team.

On top of Rice, the preseason includes trips to Texas and Vanderbilt on top of tilts at San Jose State and Cal before a homestand against Kansas to wrap things up.

"Again, I can't blame anyone but myself for the scheduling," Marquess said. "The schedule will be a real killer, and if it doesn't kill us it will be pretty good -- if we can survive it."

The past two NCAA champions have come out of the Pac-12 and the coaches' poll has Oregon State as this year's favorite, with Stanford and Cal in the middle of the pack.

"I say this a lot, but I know it's true: Five years ago I could have told which one of five teams is going to win the national championship," Marquess said. "You could load up. If you would have told Oregon, Oregon State will be dominant teams and Oregon State would win two national championships, I would say that you're crazy. Can't be done, cold-weather school. That's not the case anymore. So I don't think anybody is devoid of talent."

Of note, Dean Stotz will not be in the Stanford dugout for the first time in 37 years. An assistant coach for Marquess' entire tenure on The Farm, Stotz retired after the 2013 season. Ryan Garko, who played at Stanford from 2000 to 2003 and took a five-year tour of the major leagues, was hired to take his place.

"It's difficult to get used to the fact of not seeing Dean in the office all day," Marquess said. "But Coach Stotz's golf game has gotten a lot better."

"Losing coach Stotz hurts," Blandino said. "He was a great mentor, a great coach. He brings a lot to the table with his wisdom every day. But having a younger guy on the coaching staff who obviously played here, had great success, went on to play pro ball ... and being lucky enough to have him come back to bring that kind of perspective -- he's been through what we're going through and he's been to Omaha -- ... I think it has been big for us. It has helped our team."